Vetted by HousingWire  |  Our editors independently review the products we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission.Successful listing agents know that the key to securing a listing is preparation. Proactive agents do the work ahead of time and know what to expect going in

Why are home prices still rising even as mortgage rates have gone higher? A number of people predicted that home prices would experience a steep drop as mortgage rates rose, but that’s not what has happened. This is not a new idea — I’ve been dealing with people predicting a housing crash since 2012

American Identity Group, an information security company that monitors and fixes security breaches and primarily operates in the wholesale lending space, has also become well established in the title and home warranty industries.The company now aims to embed its services in forward and reverse mortg

Even as artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more prominent in the mortgage industry, most millennial and Generation Z homebuyers are hesitant to rely solely on a fully automated application process to get a loan, according to a new study. A survey from mortgage technology firm Cloudvirga, conducted

Retirement benefits for recipients of the U.S. Social Security program must be scaled back by 2033 if there is to be any chance of sustaining full retirement benefit payouts, but a consistent lack of attention by both chambers of Congress could necessitate a benefit cut if inaction persists over the

According to ATTOM’s third quarter 2024 Home Equity and Underwater Report, 48.3% of mortgaged residential properties in the U.S. are considered equity rich. In the first quarter of 2024, homeowners across the U.S. saw a remarkable surge in their equity, gaining an impressive $28,000 on average. Acco

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund announced on Wednesday that it has awarded 48 organizations a total of $246.4 million to develop affordable housing and community facilities.The funding is expected to result in some 26,400 new housing uni

UWM has debuted a new cash-out refi product without mortgage insurance. Is the juice worth the squeeze?United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) has the mortgage industry abuzz over its latest product, a higher-risk, cash-out refinance at a time of economic uncertainty. On Wednesday, UWM unveiled a new cash-o

What had previously been a surprisingly mild 2024 hurricane season closed with two devastating storms that hammered Florida and North Carolina.While assessing the full scale of the damage could still take months, the short-term effects on the two state’s housing markets were immediately visible — th

Mortgage data and workflow solutions provider FirstClose is launching a new feature for its automated home equity point-of-sale system. The Austin-based company has added the Digital Loan Product Wizard to the system, according to a recent announcement. The new feature will help customers to quickly

The third-quarter financials for Pennymac Financial Services illustrate the double-edged sword of declining interest rates for mortgage companies. It can improve loan production and acquisitions but hurt their servicing portfolios.When factoring both impacts on its earnings, the California-based len

Reverse mortgage educators Dan Hultquist and Jim McMinn brought their “Rules of the Game” presentation back to the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) Annual Meeting and Expo this year in San Diego. After getting some of the preliminaries out of the way regarding the importance of

Guaranteed Rate Affinity announced a promotion on Tuesday as the joint venture company named 22-year industry veteran Mark Rawls as vice president of mortgage lending.Rawls is the latest addition to a leadership team of seven executives at the developing company. Guaranteed Rate Affinity was formed

eXp Realty continues to add agents and teams at a fast clip. The company announced the addition of the Maine-based Realty ONE Group, a 36-agent team that has closed 338 transactions totaling $128 million in sales volume so far this year.The team is led by Steven Brackett, who has been part of Realty

A new study from Morningstar focused on U.S. retirement readiness illustrates that while there has been some improvement over time, general retirement preparedness is lacking.Using data from the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, Morningstar researchers analyzed data from 3,442 household

Mortgage rates continue to rise, serving as a bucket of cold water for lenders and consumers that were warming to lower borrowing costs just a few months ago.According to HousingWire‘s Mortgage Rates Center, the average 30-year conforming rate was 6.61% on Tuesday. That was up 15 basis points (bps)

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) this week announced two temporary policy waivers as the response to hurricanes Helene and Milton continues.The FHA’s 203(k) rehabilitation mortgage program currently has a requirement that “when a repair is considered ‘major,’ it becomes ineligible to be fina

The Real Brokerage is keeping attendees of RISE, its third annual agent conference, on their toes. From the RISE stage in Las Vegas, Real unveiled three new products for agents and clients on Tuesday.The first product launched is an upgrade to Leo, the AI assistant the firm first debuted during the

If there’s one word that best encapsulates the current political climate, it might be “polarized.” People who are active in the political process are often tribal about their beliefs on how the country should be run, and that tribalism has manifested into political polarization that seems to be stri

In a recent episode of “The Loan Officer Podcast,” co-hosts Dustin Owen and John Coleman discuss key tips for loan officers when engaging in small talk with prospective clients. Owen and Coleman explore common discussion topics, conversational nuances and best practices for communicating with client